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Here Are 47 Ways To Tell Someone Off In Another Language

For most people, taking up another language is something we do because we want to connect more with the world around us, not because we want to lob foreign insults around.

But there comes a time in every student’s journey for learning to articulate one’s boundaries. For instance: “No thanks, I’m busy tonight.” Or “Hey, I really didn’t appreciate that comment you made the other night about Beyoncé’s new single.” Or “Go toward ruin” (that’s “va’ in malora” in Italian).

Because language is ever strange and colorful, there is no limit to the varied ways in which you can express your displeasure with someone.

Here are 47 ways to tell someone off in 10 different languages (and their somewhat awkward English translations).

German

Scher dich zum Kuckuck! — Go (quickly) to the cuckoo!*

*Because of the cuckoo’s cunning habit of putting its eggs into other birds’ nests, it was associated with the devil. Instead of saying the devil’s name out loud when swearing, people say “cuckoo” to avoid invoking the devil and attracting bad luck.

French

Va te faire cuire un œuf ! — Go cook yourself an egg!

Casse-toi ! — Break yourself!

Va voir ailleurs si j’y suis ! — Go see if I am somewhere else!

Va te faire voir ! — Go show yourself!

Fiche le camp ! — Card the camp!*

*Quite impossible to translate. “Ficher” means “to file; to card,” but the verb in this expression has totally lost its meaning.

Italian

Va’ a farti un giro. — Go for a walk.

Levati dai piedi. — Remove yourself from my feet.

Vai a quel paese! — Go to that (another) town!*

Vai al diavolo! — Go to the devil!

Lasciami in pace! — Leave me in peace!

Vai all’inferno! — Go to hell!

Vai a farti benedire. — Go and get a blessing (from someone else).**

Vai a farti friggere. — Go fry yourself.

Va’ in malora. — Go towards ruin (in the sense of: may you be ruined forever).

Smamma. — Go away.***

Via, aria. — Go, give me some air.

*Originally a way to say “go to hell” or “piss off” without actually swearing or using bad words. It fits very well with the Italian mentality, which is mostly Catholic and somewhat superstitious.

**In the past, people used to think that blessings from a priest held the power of an “exorcism.” The expression could be perceived as a polite way to tell someone off by inviting them to get checked out by a priest, because something is clearly wrong with them.

Spanish

¡Vete a freír espárragos! — Go fry asparagus!*

¡Que te zurzan! — I hope you get mended!

¡Vete a paseo! — Go for a walk!

*This expression dates back to the 19th century, and it refers to a time when asparagus was usually boiled, not fried. Frying asparagus was therefore seen as a pointless activity that could keep someone occupied for quite some time.

French is not just the language of France, but of 29 countries around the world. Check out these French expressions from all over Europe, Africa and the Americas that even the French would struggle to understand.

Steph is a writer, lindy hopper, and astrologer. She’s also a language enthusiast who grew up bilingual and had an early love affair with books. She has mostly proved herself as a New Yorker, and she can introduce herself in Swedish thanks to Babbel. She also speaks Russian and Spanish, but she’s a little rusty on those fronts.

Steph is a writer, lindy hopper, and astrologer. She’s also a language enthusiast who grew up bilingual and had an early love affair with books. She has mostly proved herself as a New Yorker, and she can introduce herself in Swedish thanks to Babbel. She also speaks Russian and Spanish, but she’s a little rusty on those fronts.